“Technical problem” disrupts UK air travel

Many flights to and from the UK were experiencing long delays on Monday due to a “technical fault” which has been identified and fixed, UK air traffic control officials said.

“Currently we have a technical problem and have put traffic restrictions in place [des vols] For safety reasons”, the National Aviation Services (NATS) announced in a press release issued after noon.

“Until our engineers resolve this issue, flight plans are being entered manually, meaning they cannot be processed at the same rate,” they said.

In a new press release issued mid-afternoon, NATS said it had “diagnosed and fixed the technical issue”. “We are now working with airlines and airports to manage the affected flights as best as possible,” the press release said.

Monday is a public holiday in the UK and marks the end of a long weekend for Britons, many of whom are returning from holidays.

Heathrow, the country’s largest airport, said it was “working closely” with aviation authorities and other airports to “minimize the impact” of the disruption on passengers.

“We are seeing delays and cancellations,” Gatwick Airport said on social network X (formerly Twitter).

“As with all airlines using British airspace, our flights have been hit hard by a major problem affecting air traffic control,” British Airways warned. “We had to make some significant changes to our schedule today,” he said.

Several other airlines, including Easyjet and Ryanair, are also facing delays and cancellations and evidence of stranded passengers across Europe.

“There’s a plane on the tarmac at Budapest Airport right now,” wrote BBC presenter Gabby Logan. “We were told that the airspace is closed. We can stay there for 12 hours,” he added on X (formerly Twitter).

For its part, cross-Channel railway company Eurostar indicated it would run an extra train between Paris and London on Monday evening “due to disruptions affecting air services in the United Kingdom”.